Paul Kresh:

A Preliminary Inventory of His Collection in the Manuscript Collection at
the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

Creator:

Kresh, Paul, 1919-1997

Title:

Paul Kresh Collection

Dates:

1940-1991 (bulk 1974-1981)

Extent:

16 boxes (6.72 linear feet)

Abstract:

Paul Kresh, an author whose career
included working as a publicist, record producer, and critic, wrote the first
full-length biography of Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. The Paul Kresh
Collection is divided into two series, I. Works by Kresh and II. Other Material,
and
includes items dating from 1940 to 1991. The bulk of the papers relates to Kresh’s
biography of Singer, Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Magician of
West 86th Street, and dates from 1975 to 1979.

The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Center

Paul Kresh, an author whose career included working as a publicist, record producer,
and critic, wrote the first full-length biography of Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis
Singer. The Paul Kresh Collection is divided into two series, I. Works by Kresh
and
II. Other Material, and includes items dating from 1940 to 1991. The bulk of the
papers relates to Kresh’s biography of Singer, Isaac Bashevis
Singer: The Magician of West 86th Street, and dates from 1975 to 1979.

Among the papers are multiple drafts and fragments as well as research material,
including copies of Singer’s manuscripts and correspondence, photographs of Singer,
transcripts of numerous interviews Kresh conducted with friends, family, associates
of Singer, and Singer himself, and copies of works about Singer. Kresh accompanied
Singer on his trip to Stockholm to receive the Nobel Prize, and material relating
to
that trip is included. Galley proofs and Kresh’s correspondence regarding the
book
are also present.

Kresh also used material from The Magician of West 86th
Street to write a juvenile biography of Singer, Isaac
Bashevis Singer: The Story of a Storyteller, and that work is
represented by drafts, proofs, and correspondence. Kresh’s other manuscripts
included in the collection are typescripts of "Through
Darkest Stockholm with Dauntless Isaac,"
"E. B. White’s Affable, Adaptable Animals Come to Life in
Unabridged Recordings," and several drafts of his biography of George
Gershwin, American Rhapsody: The Story of George
Gershwin.

Kresh was also a music critic and writer who was involved in recording poetry and
other readings. Series II. contains his correspondence about music articles, poetry
recordings, and the 1978 Records of the Year Awards, as well as record catalogs,
various flyers and brochures, and Kresh’s notes on recordings of radio broadcasts.
A
notebook contains Kresh’s notes on various stage productions, and a file on Sweeney Todd includes a transcript of an interview with
Angela Lansbury. These items all date from 1974 to 1980.